By RONI CARYN RABIN
Eating about two and a half airplane snacks’ worth of nuts every day helps lower total cholesterol and “bad” LDL cholesterol, and improves the ratio of total cholesterol to “good” HDL cholesterol, a study reports.
Researchers pooled the results of 25 clinical trials that involved 583 participants over all. The study reported that eating just 2.4 ounces of nuts of any kind was associated with declines of 10.2 milligrams per deciliter in bad cholesterol, a drop of about 7.4 percent, and 10.9 milligrams in total cholesterol, or 5.1 percent.
The study, which appeared in the May 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, was partly financed by a nut-industry foundation, and two of the authors receive research money from other organizations representing the nut and peanut industries.
But the authors noted that some of the trials they analyzed had no corporate financing, yet came to similar conclusions.
“Nuts are rich in unsaturated fats, and that is a main driver in lowering cholesterol,” said the lead author, Dr. Joan Sabaté, a professor of nutrition at the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University in California. “They are the richest source of protein in the plant kingdom, and they also contain fiber and phytosterols, which compete with cholesterol to be absorbed. All these nutrients have been demonstrated to lower cholesterol.”
The effect was most pronounced among people with higher LDL cholesterol to begin with and among those who were not obese. The more nuts they ate, the greater the effect.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Flat Belly Myths
Beware of quick fixes that promise a flat belly in no time! Eat Plant Fats and avoid Chewing gum, carbonated beverages, artificial sweeteners and gassy foods
Walking Seems to Lower Women's Stroke Risk
Study: Walking Seems to Lower Women's Stroke Risk - Women's Health - FOXNews.com
Women can lower their stroke risk by lacing up their sneakers and walking, a new study suggests.
Women who said they walked briskly had a 37 percent lower risk of stroke than those who didn't walk. Women who reported walking at least two hours a week at any pace had a 30 percent lower risk, according to a study published online Tuesday in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.
While previous studies have shown that physical activity decreases the chances of having a stroke, the new study focused on what kind of exercise might be most beneficial for women.
"This certainly speaks to walking for a certain amount of time and walking briskly as well," said Jacob Sattelmair, lead author of the study and a doctoral student at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
Those walking at a brisk pace should be able to talk — but not sing, he said.
The research involved about 39,000 female health workers 45 or older enrolled in the Women's Health Study. The women were periodically asked about their physical activity. During 12 years of follow-up, 579 had strokes.
Besides walking, the study looked at vigorous activities like running, swimming and biking, but researchers didn't find a link between those vigorous activities and a reduced stroke risk. The researcher said there may not have been enough women in that group to show a difference. It's also possible, they said, that moderate activity is better at lowering blood pressure, a strong risk factor for stroke.
The researchers took into account age, aspirin use, smoking and other things that could influence stroke risk.
"I think what's encouraging is that moderate activities are powerfully effective in reducing the risks of stroke," said Dr. Anand Rohatgi, a cardiologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
In addition to high blood pressure, risk factors for stroke include heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
"The things that directly correlate with stroke are improved with physical activity," Rohatgi said. "They all line up."
Dr. Tracy Stevens, director of Saint Luke's Muriel I. Kauffman Women's Heart Center in Kansas City, Mo., said people can see the benefits of exercise by taking their blood pressure after exercising to see how much lower it is.
"It takes hard work," she said, adding, "It doesn't have to be anything fancy."
The American Heart Association recommends that adults do 2 1/2 hours a week of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity or a combination.
Posted using ShareThis
Women can lower their stroke risk by lacing up their sneakers and walking, a new study suggests.
Women who said they walked briskly had a 37 percent lower risk of stroke than those who didn't walk. Women who reported walking at least two hours a week at any pace had a 30 percent lower risk, according to a study published online Tuesday in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.
While previous studies have shown that physical activity decreases the chances of having a stroke, the new study focused on what kind of exercise might be most beneficial for women.
"This certainly speaks to walking for a certain amount of time and walking briskly as well," said Jacob Sattelmair, lead author of the study and a doctoral student at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
Those walking at a brisk pace should be able to talk — but not sing, he said.
The research involved about 39,000 female health workers 45 or older enrolled in the Women's Health Study. The women were periodically asked about their physical activity. During 12 years of follow-up, 579 had strokes.
Besides walking, the study looked at vigorous activities like running, swimming and biking, but researchers didn't find a link between those vigorous activities and a reduced stroke risk. The researcher said there may not have been enough women in that group to show a difference. It's also possible, they said, that moderate activity is better at lowering blood pressure, a strong risk factor for stroke.
The researchers took into account age, aspirin use, smoking and other things that could influence stroke risk.
"I think what's encouraging is that moderate activities are powerfully effective in reducing the risks of stroke," said Dr. Anand Rohatgi, a cardiologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
In addition to high blood pressure, risk factors for stroke include heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
"The things that directly correlate with stroke are improved with physical activity," Rohatgi said. "They all line up."
Dr. Tracy Stevens, director of Saint Luke's Muriel I. Kauffman Women's Heart Center in Kansas City, Mo., said people can see the benefits of exercise by taking their blood pressure after exercising to see how much lower it is.
"It takes hard work," she said, adding, "It doesn't have to be anything fancy."
The American Heart Association recommends that adults do 2 1/2 hours a week of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity or a combination.
Posted using ShareThis
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Health Tip of the Day: Added Sugars Appear to Affect Cholesterol
By RONI CARYN RABIN
People who eat and drink high amounts of added sugars have lower blood levels of so-called good cholesterol and higher levels of harmful triglycerides than those with diets lower in such sweeteners, a new study reports.
The researchers gathered data on 6,113 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, who were asked to recall their food intake during a single 24-hour period, then were grouped according to their consumption of added sugars, including refined beet or cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Blood samples were analyzed for triglycerides and both types of cholesterol — good, or HDL, and bad, or LDL.
On average, 15.8 percent of participants’ calories came from added sugars. When the figure was 25 percent or more, good cholesterol averaged 47.7 milligrams per deciliter and levels of triglycerides were 114 milligrams. In contrast, those who consumed less than 5 percent of their calories in added sugars had higher levels of good cholesterol, with a mean of 58.7 milligrams, and lower levels of harmful triglycerides (105 milligrams).
“We looked specifically at sugars that are added during the processing and preparation of foods,” said the paper’s lead author, Jean A. Welsh, a graduate researcher at Emory University in Atlanta. “Soft drinks are the most commonly consumed example and provide 30 percent of added sugar in the United States.”
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
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